


Percy Jackson and the Olympians (AU)

by Lenaa412



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Brother, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Gen, Gods, Greek gods, Summer Camp, olympus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22544614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenaa412/pseuds/Lenaa412





	1. Chapter 1

Our house was always by water. Though we, me and my mom, always moved houses, she always made sure that we were near water. Moving so many times a year meant a new school, which led to me not having any friends. But this time it was different. We lived here for a year now, and there was a girl, Cindy, in my school who became my best friend right away. We are both a bit hectic and energetic.

Right now, I was at my favourite spot at the dock. Oh, yes, our little house had a small dock, there was a spot which couldn’t be seen from inside the house. It was a good place to hide when I had a sad day.

My bare feet touched the water, as it was at a higher level today. It always calmed me down. Being near the water, I mean. A little contact with it, like now, and it’s like the current washed most of my problems away.

Once, I had a terrible day, I had an argument with Cindy. A bad one. When I got home, I came straight out here and was here for hours. I talked about my problems out to the wind, but after I was still angry.

“Argh! Why can’t she just see that I’m right? Why can’t she accept that sometimes she is not the one who knows all?” I asked the world, throwing my hands in the air. And that’s when it happened. It was only for a second, then it was gone again, but I lifted the water.

I was shocked at first. Couldn’t believe my eyes. I looked for something that might explain why it happened, and when I didn’t, I just thought it was a wave. But it didn’t let me rest. A few days later, when my mom wasn’t home, I tried it again.

I got a glass of water on the counter and tried to lift the water up, and out of the glass. At first, nothing happened, but I didn’t give up. For like the fifth time, the water moved, and a few more tries after that, I could do it easily. Of course, I never told my mom, but she found out anyway. That’s when things got cold between us, and she got paranoiac.

“Isabella!” I heard her call my name.

I stood up. “Coming!” I shouted back, but she was already outside.

“Isabella, you’re not doing that thing again, are you? You know, I told you, you can’t do that!”

“Yes, I do know. What I don’t know is, why? But I know you’re not going to give me an answer, so I might as well just shut up now,” I said and stormed inside.

That afternoon, I laid on my bed, looking at the ceiling. That argument I mentioned was months ago. However, the next week when we went to school, Cindy came to me and apologised, and so did I. We forgave each other, and everything was back to normal. I was expecting her to come over today for a sleepover, but she was running late. She was _never_ late.

I got up and went downstairs to check if I just didn’t hear her come in, but she wasn’t there. I saw the TV’s lights on the walls, but my mom was asleep on the sofa. I turned it off and put a blanket on her. I got my phone, checked if I had any missed calls, but no. I rarely used my phone, mostly to call my mom or Cindy, and that’s what I did now. But she didn’t answer. Just when I was about to press the green button again, someone was knocking on the door like if they wanted to break it.

I jumped at the sound, and so did my mom.

“What is it?” She asked. I shrugged. She stood up, rubbed her eyes, and walked to the door. When she opened it, Cindy stormed in. “Cindy! Wha–”

“I’m sorry, Caren, but we need to go. Now,” she said out of breath.

“Where? Why? Cindy!” I wanted answers.

My mom rushed past me upstairs. “I’ll tell you, but now you need to do as Cindy, and I say, understood.”

“Yes, but what–”

“Caren, we need to go!” Cindy sounded urgent. My mom run upstairs and returned with a backpack. We got into the car, Cindy and mom in the front, and me in the back. Very fair, if you ask me ...

“Would someone finally tell me where on Earth we’re going?” I demanded.

“To the camp,” my mom answered shortly.

“Great.” I sat back and looked out of the window, watching the scenery pass by. “And why now, why today? Why not tomorrow, or next week?” They kept quiet. “Don’t answer me then.”

“Cindy?” My mom glanced at her.

“They found her. They were coming. I slowed them down, but they’re still following.”

“Who?” I asked angrily, but they ignored me.

“They?” My mom asked.

“Two manticores. They were undercover at the school, and it was too late when I found out, and they already went after her. But I slowed them down. Though I’m not sure where they are now,” she said, looking backwards.

“Would someone tell me what is going on?” I shouted. “Or do I need to exit the vehicle dramatically to finally pay attention to me?”

“Yes, darling?” Mom looked at me through the rear-view mirror.

“First of all, what is that ‘manticore’?”

“It’s a monster which is after demigods,” Cindy answered.

I was getting confused. “So why are _we_ the one running?”

“Because they’re after you,” she said.

“Ha-ha. Yes. Sure. After me,” I said sceptically.

“Honey, it’s true. You are a demigod. Your dad–”

“Caren!” Cindy cut her off with a scream. There was something ahead of us on the road, and we almost hit it.

“What was that?” I asked panicking.

“No worries, just a stray dog,” Cindy assured us.

“So, you’re saying my dad is a ...”

“A god, yes. One of the Greek gods to be precise.”

“‘One of’? You don’t know which one?” I asked, but she kept quiet. “And what is this camp you’re taking me to?”

“Camp Half-Blood,” Cindy answered. “A camp where all demigods are welcomed, and they live there over the summer, some all year.”

“A summer camp? Just great.” I crossed my arms.

“Honey, please don’t do this.”

“Don’t ‘honey’ me! You lied to me. All my life! And you too, Cindy?”

“I did know all along, and now that we’re putting everything out in the open I can tell you that I was assigned to be by your side since I lived nearest you.”

“So, you were never meant to be my friend?”

“That’s not what I meant.” She turned around. “Of course I am your friend!”

“So, if I’m a demigod, then what are you? You can’t just be a normal human.”

“No, I’m the daughter of Iris, the Goddess of Rainbow. She delivers Iris Messages for gods and demigods.”

“You’re a demigod too?”

“Uh-hm.” She smiled.

“And why are these manticores after us?” I asked.

“They don’t seem to like demigods. You know the two brothers, Kyle and Callum?” I nodded. They came a month before the summer holiday; new students. “Well, they weren’t some new students, exchange students, whatever. They were hunting for demigods.”

“And how many demigods are there in the school?”

“Just three. You, me, and Cassidy. She’s the daughter of Ares, the God of War.”

We all kept quiet for some minutes. “How far is this camp?”

“Not far now. Ten minutes maybe,” my mom answered.

“Cindy,” she turned around. “You’re the daughter of Ares, right.”

“Last time I checked I was.”

“But how did you know?”

She turned back around to face the front. “Chiron and Mr D will tell you everything.”

I wanted to ask her who Chiron and Mr D was, but I kept quiet. I guessed she’ll only tell me to wait until I get there, and I’ll find out.

Mom was right. In a few minutes, she pulled over and stopped. She turned around.

“We’re here, it’s just up this hill.” She pointed out the window. “Sadly, I can’t go with you.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I’m not a demigod.” She reached for my hand. “But Cindy will be there. And I’m sure there are many nice girls and boys, and you’ll find friends easily.”

“Thanks,” I said. We got out of the car, and after I had hugged my mom tightly, and a few tears had escaped, I let her go. She got into the car again and drove away.

“We need to go, Isabella.”

I sighed. “Lead the way.”

We climbed up the hill until we reached a big arch on which it read Camp Half-Blood.

“You know, the camp has a magic barrier, which doesn’t allow mortals or monsters in, that’s why your mother couldn’t come. But she’ll be okay, they won’t go after her. And they won’t come after you either, because the barrier will protect you, us.” She smiled.

I smiled back at her, and we both crossed the border, stepped into the camp.


	2. Chapter 2

As we entered, I saw the whole camp.

The camp was placed near the beach because I could’ve seen the setting sun reflecting on the surface of the water. It was rather beautiful. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture – an open-air pavilion, an amphitheatre, a circular arena – except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. There was a sandpit where a few kids were playing volleyball. And as we approached a big white house, I could’ve seen the kids there, all wearing orange t-shirts with the writing ‘Camp Half-Blood’ on it. There were some shooting arrows at an archery range, others were horse riding, and if I wasn’t hallucinating, some of those horses had wings.

As we reached the farmhouse, two men sat across from each other at a card table.

“That’s Mr D,” Cindy murmured to me. “He’s the camp director. Be polite. And that’s Chiron.” He pointed at the guy whose back was to me. He was wearing a tweed jacket, and he had thinning brown hair and a scraggly beard.

“Cindy!” Chiron called out when he saw her. “And who’s your friend?”

“Chiron, this is Isabella. Isabella, Chiron.” She looked behind him. “And that’s Mr D.”

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Isabella,” Mr D said.

I smiled at him.

Chiron turned to Cindy. “Cindy, my dear, why don’t you go and check on Isabella’s bunk? We’ll be putting her in cabin eleven for now.”

“Sure, Chiron,” she said and scurried away.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve made a house call to a potential camper. I’d hate to think I’ve wasted my time,” Chiron said.

“House call?”

“We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But it was a rather good coincidence that you and Cindy went to the same school. She alerted me as soon as she met you. She sensed you were something special.”

“Special?”

“Have your mother told you nothing?” Mr D asked.

“She mentioned that my father was one of the Olympians?”

“Are you telling me this, or asking?” He stopped then continued anyway. “Well, since you’re here, it _is_ the case, and why would anyone, especially your mother, lie about such thing, hm? Thought so,” Mr D said. He waved his hand, and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The cup filled itself with red wine.

My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.

“Mr D,” he warned, “your restrictions.”

Mr D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.

“Dear me.” He looked up at the sky and yelled, “Old habits! Sorry!”

Thunder came.

Mr D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.

Chiron winked at me. “Mr D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits.”

“A wood nymph,” I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.

“Yes,” Mr D confessed. “Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time – well, she really was pretty, and I couldn’t stay away – the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. ‘Be a better influence,’ he told me. ‘Work with youths rather than tearing them down.’ Ha.’ Absolutely unfair.”

Mr D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.

“And ...” I stammered, “your father is ...”

“ _Di immortales_ ,” Mr D said. “I thought you were taught the basics. My father is Zeus, of course.”

I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here.

“You’re Dionysus,” I said. “The god of wine.”

“What do they say these days? Do they say ‘Well, duh!’?” When no one answered, he just continued. “Then, well, duh! Isabella. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?”

“You’re a god.”

“Yes.”

“A god. You.”

He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grapevines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr D would show me worse things. He would plant disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a straight-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.

“Would you like to test me, child?”

“No.”

“No, sir,” he corrected.

“No, sir,” I repeated.

The fire died a little. Mr D turned back to his card game. “I believe I win.”

“Not quite, Mr D,” Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, “The game goes to me.”

“I’m tired,” Mr D said. “I believe I’ll take a nap before the sing-along tonight.” Mr D turned to me. “Cabin eleven, Isabella Don. And mind your manners.” Then he swept into the farmhouse.

“What–” I started.

“Old Dionysus isn’t crazy. He just hates his job. He’s been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can’t stand waiting another century before he’s allowed to go back to Olympus.”

“Mount Olympus,” I said. “You’re telling me there really is a palace there?”

“Well now, there’s Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there’s the home of the gods, the convergence points of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It’s still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Isabella, just as the gods do.”

“You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in America?”

“Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West.”

“The what?”

“Come now, Isabella. What you call ‘Western civilisation.’ Do you think it’s just an abstract concept? No, it’s a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned brightly for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn’t possibly fade, not unless all Western civilisation was obliterated. The fire started in Greece. Then, as you well know – or as I hope you do – the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps – Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on – but the same forces, the same gods.”

“And then they died.”

“Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. People do not forget the gods. Every place they’ve ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Isabella, of course, they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Centre, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not – and believe me, plenty of people weren’t very fond of Rome, either – America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so, Olympus is here. And we are here.”

It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron’s we as if I were part of some club.

“Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?”

Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralysed from the waist down.

“Who are you?” he mused. “Well, that’s the question we all want to be answered, isn’t it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s’mores at the campfire tonight, and I just adore chocolate.”

And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn’t move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realised that the velvet underwear wasn’t underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn’t a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must’ve been magic because there’s no way it could’ve held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.

I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a massive white stallion. But where its neck should be, was the upper body of him, smoothly grafted to the horse’s trunk.

“What a relief,” the centaur said. “I’d been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep. Now, come, Isabella Don. Let’s meet the other campers.”


	3. Chapter 3

Once I got over the fact that Chiron was a horse, and that he just came out of a wheelchair, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him.

We passed the volleyball pit. Most of the campers looked a bit older than me. There were satyrs, half boy, half-goat people, all of them trotting around in orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirts with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters.

I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I’d realised – four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort.

“Come along, Isabella,” Chiron said, his light-hearted tone now a little forced. “Lots to see.”

We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.

Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. “It pays our expenses,” he explained. “And the strawberries take almost no effort.”

He said Mr D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.

I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire.

“Chiron,” I said. “If the gods and Olympus and all that is real ...”

“Yes, child?”

“Does that mean the Underworld is real too?”

Chiron’s expression darkened.

“Yes, child.” He paused as if choosing his words carefully. “There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now, ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind.”

“What do you mean, ‘until we know more’?”

“Come, Isabella. Let’s see the woods.”

As we got closer, I realised how vast the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.

Chiron said, “The woods are docked if you care to try your luck but go armed.”

“Stocked with what?” I asked. “Armed with what?”

“You’ll see. Do you have your own sword and shield?”

“My own—?”

“No,” Chiron said. “I don’t suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I’ll visit the armoury later.”

I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armoury, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn’t seem to like very much), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.

“Sword and spear fights?” I asked.

“Cabin challenges and all that,” he explained. “Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there’s the mess hall.”

Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

“What do you do when it rains?” I asked.

Chiron looked at me as if I’d gone a little weird. “We still have to eat, don’t we?” I decided to drop the subject.

Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, then right more, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. The eight remaining were based at the foot of the last ones. And they were, without doubt, the most bizarre collection of buildings I’d ever seen.

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).

In the centre of the field was a vast stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smouldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-her mausoleums, big white marble boxes with massive columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

“Zeus and Hera?” I guessed.

“Correct,” Chiron said.

“Their cabins look empty.”

“That’s true. No one ever stays in two, and only the hunters stay in eight.”

“The hunters?” I asked back.

“Artemis’s hunters,” he said, and I nodded however small I knew about them.

I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.

It wasn’t high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough grey stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway, and Chiron said, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that!”

Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six bunk beds with silk sheets. Chiron said, “Come along, Isabella.”

Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers.

Number five was bright red – a real nasty paint job as if the colour had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar’s head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared.

I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron’s hooves. “We haven’t seen any other centaurs,” I observed.

“No,” said Chiron sadly. “My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I’m afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won’t see any here.”

“You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ...”

He smiled down at me. “The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Isabella, I am.”

“But shouldn’t you be dead?”

Chiron paused as if the question intrigued him. “I honestly don’t know about should be. The truth is, I can’t be dead. You see, aeons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I’m still here, so I can only assume I’m still needed.”

I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn’t have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.

“Doesn’t it ever get boring?”

“No, no,” he said. “Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring.”

“Why depressing?”

Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.

“Oh, look,” he said. “Cindy is waiting for us.”

“Cindy,” Chiron said, “I have masters’ archery class at noon. Would you take Isabella from here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Cabin eleven,” Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. “Make yourself at home.”

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin – with the emphasis on ‘old’. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor’s symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it ...? A caduceus.

Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, a few more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor.

Chiron didn’t go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him, they all stood and bowed respectfully.

“Well, then,” Chiron said. “Good luck, Isabella. I’ll see you at dinner.”

He galloped away toward the archery range.

I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren’t bowing anymore, they were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I’d gone through it at enough schools.

“Well?” Cindy prompted. “Go on.”

So naturally, I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself. There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.

Cindy announced, “Isabella Don, meet cabin eleven.”

“Regular or undetermined?” somebody asked.

I didn’t know what to say, but Cindy said, “Undetermined.”

Everybody groaned.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. “Now, now, campers. That’s what we’re here for. Welcome, Isabella. You can have that bed over there, Peter, your new place is here.” He pointed to the floor.

“No-no. I’m fine with sleeping on the floor.” I protested.

“Nonsense,” Peter cut in. He grabbed his stuff and moved to his new spot. From there, he smiled at me, and I smiled back.

The other guy was about nineteen, and he looked very cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cut-offs and sandals.

“This is Connor,” Cindy said. “He’s your counsellor for now.”

“For now?” I asked.

“You’re undetermined,” Connor explained patiently. “They don’t know what cabin to put you in, so you’re here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers.”

I looked at the bed they’d given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no nothing.

“How long will I be here?” I asked.

“Good question,” Connor said. “Until you are determined.”

“How long will that take?”

The campers all laughed.

“Come on,” Cindy told me. “I’ll show you the volleyball court.”

“I’ve already seen it.”

“Come on.” She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.

“Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there.”

I pointed to the first few cabins, and Cindy turned pale. “You don’t just choose a cabin, Isabella. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent.”

She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.

“You know my mom.” I put my hands on my hips.

“I’m talking about your other parent. Your dad.”

“I never knew him, you know that. He might as well be dead, and not some ... God.”

“Your dad is not dead, Bella.”

“How do you know? Do you know him?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then how can you say–”

“Because I know you. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t one of us.” We stayed quiet for a few minutes, just walking around. “I think it’s better if we go get dinner. It’s almost time anyway,” she said.

I shrugged and followed her to the mess hall.

“Sadly, this is where our paths separate. You know, as we cannot go into the others’ cabins, we cannot sit at the other cabins’ tables. I’ve got to sit with the Iris’ Cabin, and you, temporarily sit with the Hermes’ Cabin,” she said with a smile.

As I was about to sit down, I glanced at Cindy. She smiled, but that smile faded from her face in a moment, as did the Hermes kids smile, and everyone looked at me.

“What?”

“Unbelievable,” one of them said.

Cindy got up and walked to me. “Your father.”

By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

“My father?” I asked, utterly confused.

“Poseidon,” she said. “Earthshaker, Storm Bringer, Father of Horses. Isabella Don, you’re the Daughter of the Sea God.”


	4. Chapter 4

It turned out that I didn’t have to spend the night at Cabin Eleven, and Peter got his bed back. Instead, I got Cabin Three.

But before that, Cindy walked me to Cabin Three’s table, where a boy was sitting alone. He had dark hair, and green eyes, and was a bit skinny. He wore the orange ‘Camp Half-Blood’ t-shirt too, like everyone else. Well, almost everyone.

“Hi. I’m Isabella,” I said as I sat down.

“Percy.” He reached out for my hand to shake.

We smiled at each other, and we began to eat. I glanced many times at Cindy, but most of the times she wasn’t looking at my direction but talking to her cabin mates.

I excused myself and stood up from the table, my food nearly untouched then I walked away from the mess hall, and towards the arena. A boy was practising there. From where I stood, the side of it, he looked like a black figure moving around the place, but as he got into the light patches, I saw better.

He wore black clothes though, black t-shirt, not the orange one everyone did; black trousers, black trainers. Though his hair was brown, and when he was facing me, I saw his eyes were blue.

But apart from his appearance, the other thing that caught my attention was how he was moving, dancing around the arena while practising sword fighting.

When he stopped, then looked at me and started walking towards me. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Zack.” He reached out his hand towards me. He was a couple inches taller than me, but still at a comfortable level.

I shook his hand. “Isabella.”

“Isabella. Nice to meet you. You’re new here, right?”

“I came a few hours ago.” I sighed.

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”

“No, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, it’s just ... A lot had happened today. I found out my dad’s an Olympian, which makes me a demigod; then I found out that I had a half-brother, and before that, that my mom couldn’t even come. Though I had Cindy with me, so there was something nice in all this.”

“Wow. That’s a lot to happen today,” he said, amused.

“Well, yeah.” I paused. “Are you not hot in all this black?”

He laughed. “No. Not at all.” He paused this time. “Maybe it’s a bit straight-forward question, but do you know whose daughter you are?”

“Yeah. I just found out.”

“And?”

“The God of Sea.”

“Aaah,” he said.

“You?” I asked back.

“God of Sky and Lightning.”

I had to think through the goods quickly, but I realised he was the son of Zeus himself. “Aaah. I see. And why are you out here? Alone.”

“I could call you the same thing.” He shot back.

I chuckled. “I needed time alone.”

“Well, so did I,” he answered.

“Oh. In that case, I’ll leave you to it. See you around, Zack,” I said and started walking away from the arena. I walked towards Cabin Three, but I stopped in front of it.

“You can go in, you know.” A voice came. I looked to my left, and Percy stood there, his hands in his pockets.

I looked back at the cabin. “I know.”

“Come,” he said, reaching for my hand. I took it, and we went into the cabin.

Poseidon’s cabin is low, long and solid, with all the windows facing the sea. The outer walls are rough grey stone with pieces of seashell and coral and look like the bottom of the ocean floor. On the inside, it has six empty bunk beds, and the walls glow like abalone.

There was a fountain which was made of grey sea rock, had a fish that spouts the water from its mouth, and had a coral decoration.

“Choose whichever bed you’d like. Erm ... Sorry for the slight mess. I didn’t expect anyone,” he said as he was trying to clear up a bit.

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” I choose a bed the closest to the door opening to the back of the cabin. Outside, I saw a little dock. I wanted to see it for myself, so I went out. It was just like I imagined. Just like the small dock, we had at our house, but this was bigger. I went back in.

“There’s something planned at seven until nine, then there is a sing-along at the campfire with the Apollo kids.”

“What’s planned for today?”

“Uhm ... Archery.”

“Would it be bad if I’d miss this one?”

“I don’t think so. But you should be there for the campfire.”

“All right. Have fun at archery,” I said as Percy walked out of the cabin. As much as I enjoyed now being alone again, I wanted him to stay.

I went back outside and sat down on the dock. I took my shoes off and let my feet touch the water. I tried the trick with the water. I knew my mom will not see me this time, but I was still kinda not wanting to do it in case she catches me again.

“I never could’ve done that,” Percy said from behind me and jute made me jump. He came around and sat down next to me. “Well, not intentionally. Can you teach me?”

“What about archery?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t think they’d mind. Besides, it’s not every day that a person meets his little sister.”

“What makes you think I’m younger than you?”

“Aren’t you?” He paused. “Why, how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“See, that’s why. I’m seventeen.” I looked ahead. “But never mind. Tell me a little about yourself.”

I sighed, but I told him some things. How we always moved, but my mom made sure we were still near water, how I had no friends because of that. I told him about my favourite spot in our little dock back home, and how I could’ve always move water. Well, since I discovered, I could.

“Your turn,” I said.

What he told me about himself was like mine. From one boarding school to another, he moved, but also, he had to live with his smelly stepdad. He said that now he understands why his stepdad’s smell covered his smell so the monsters couldn’t find him. He told me he was coming here for five years now and spoke a little about a girl named Annabeth, from the Athena Cabin, he was seeing.

“So, can you teach me how to move the water? Intentionally this time.”

“Erm, sure, I can try.” We stood up. “Well, what I do is I hold my hand out. Of course, now it comes naturally to me,” I showed him, lifting a blob of water up, and lowering it back down, “but if I had to get it to pieces, steps on how I do it ...” I paused. “So, hold your hand out. Imagine your hand is in the water, and as you lift your hand up, imagine you lifting the water with it as if it would stay in your palm.” I watched him do as I said, but nothing happened. “Don’t worry if nothing happens at first, nothing happened for me either. Just try again. And again. And again, until you get it.”

He did. We stood there for half an hour, if not longer, but he couldn’t do it. What I was surprised at is that he stayed calm about it. I know I was starting to get mad when it didn’t happen for me, but then it did, but him ... He is so calm, it’s unbelievable.

“Nothing happens,” he said.

“I’m sorry, Percy. I’m a rubbish teacher. I’m sure it will happen, you’re Poseidon’s son, you may just have a different technique than I do.”

“Maybe,” he said. “Thanks anyway.”

“Any time.” After that we went back inside and talked some more about our lives; how it was before, how it got changed, mostly he talked since he came here for many years now, and I only arrived today. We laughed and disagreed, but it was an enjoyable bonding time. He also told me that he has, we have a brother, Tyson, a Cyclops. He told me everything about him, and that he’s sure Tyson would want to get to know me.

“Do you know anyone here except for Cindy and me?” He asked.

“Erm, well I met Connor and Peter shortly in Hermes’ Cabin, and Zack in the arena at dinner.”

“Zack, you said?” He asked back.

“Yes. We talked for a few minutes. Why? Do you know him?”

“Vaguely.” He fell quiet.

“Percy? Is something wrong?”

“No. No, there’s nothing wrong. I just had a thought. But anyway, I think it’s time for us to go to the campfire.”

“Let’s.”


	5. Chapter 5

The next day was Saturday. According to Percy, Saturday and Sunday were free days when toy did what you wanted to do. Percy and I were walking towards our cabin when a blond girl approached us.

“Well look who it is. Jackson and his new girlfriend,” she said.

“Isabella, this is Clarisse, Daughter of Ares. Clarisse, this is Isabella, my half-sister.” Percy introduced us.

“Clarisse, nice to meet you.”

Her answer was a simple “argh”. But then she looked at me with a new look on her face. “You know, I don’t know why I didn’t catch you yesterday, but it doesn’t matter now. I don’t know how aware you are of the Ares Cabin’s initiation ceremony.”

I glanced at Percy, who had a funny face on. “I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it. But I’m not an Ares kid, so what’s the initiation for?”

“Oh, no, no. It’s the initiation of the new kids, right, Jackson?”

“More like humiliation ceremony if you ask me,” he said.

“Why?” I chuckled. “Do they put their heads in the toilet or what?” I was still smiling, but when I saw that he wasn’t, I knew I must’ve figured it out.

I turned to Clarisse, who was smiling widely. I pointed a finger at her. “If you lay one finger on me, you’re seriously going to regret it.”

“Uuuh! I’m afraid now. Why? What will you do?” She asked back.

“You question me?” I crossed my arms.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“But got should be,” I said. I extended my hand and motioned towards Clarisse. For one second, nothing happened, but I knew it will come in the next. In that one second, Clarisse smiled widely, but in the next second, it was washed away with the water from the lake I sent on her. “What did you say? Oh, yes, I know. ‘Sorry, Isabella, the initiation will not happen.’ That’s right. ‘Cause or will not. Now go, and run back to your Cabin, and tell the others it is cancelled. Bye-bye.”

She gave me a piercing look, but she did as I said, and turned around and walked back to her Cabin.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Percy said. “You know, she almost did it to me on my first day, but then the toilet water mixed with _her_ face. That was the first time I unintentionally used water as a defence.”

“I see.”

“Isabella!” I heard Chiron approach. I grimaced then turned around with a broad smile on my face.

“Chiron. Hi. How are you?”

He smiled. “I see you’ve met Percy.”

“Yep. He is not as useless as I thought he’d be.” I joked.

“Great to hear that. But ... What’s that?”

“What’s what?” I looked behind me innocently. “Oh, that. I have no idea. That was there when we got here.”

“Really?” He looked at me questioningly.

“Someone must’ve spilt something. Why do you think it was me?”

“I didn’t.”

“Good, because it wasn’t.” I crossed my arms.

Chiron smiled, wished us a good day and trotted away.

“You know that he saw right through you, right?”

“I assumed that much. I was never a good liar. But what can I do? Oh, what do you do on Saturdays?”

“I usually hand out work Grover or Annabeth or both.”

“Well, I’ll be heading to the arena. I want to learn how to fight with a sword.” I moved my hands around in the air, imitating that I’m fighting with a sword.

“Then I think it’s time you meet Annabeth,” he said and started walking towards the arena.

“Uuu! Your girlfriend.” I teased. He gave me a ‘stop it’ look but remained silent.

When we got to the arena, he pointed out which one was Annabeth. She had blonde curly hair, and she fought the best. She was fighting a boy which Percy told me was also from the Athena Cabin.

“His name is Connor.”

“Like the counsellor in the Hermes’ Cabin?” I asked.

“Yes.” Came the short answer. We watched as Annabeth fought with him, and when she was done, she approached us.

“Annabeth, let me introduce you Isabella, my half-sister. Isabella, this it’s Annabeth, Daughter of Athena,” Percy said. Annabeth was probably Percy’s age, maybe a couple of inches taller than him, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling grey, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analysing the best way to take me down in a fight.

“Nice to meet you.” Annabeth smiled.

“You too.” I smiled back.

“Isabella would like to learn how to fight with a sword, and I couldn’t think of a better teacher than you,” Percy explained.

“Ah, I see. All right. Let me see what I can do,” Annabeth said, and Percy nodded and left.

Annabeth came out of the arena, but before that, she called for Connor. They both led me to a grassy patch near.

“All right. Connor, Isabella. Isabella, Connor. Now that you know each other, it will be fun. Isabella, do you have any base of fighting with a sword?”

“Nope. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. We’ll ... We’ll just start from scratch then.” Annabeth gave me instructions on how to hold the sword, how to swing it, how to stand correctly, so she tried to teach me the basics. Then Connor came into place, and we had a little sparring. I appreciated he took it to my level, but I saw how torturous it was for him.

Laughter came from near us. I turned around, but they back and sucked because Connor decided to swing his sword in my direction. But then Annabeth ordered a break, and I turned back around to see who laughed.

Zack was standing next to a tree, crossed armed, in all black, looking at us.

“Well, don’t just stand there,” I told him. He pushed himself away front the tree and walked towards me. “What’s so funny?”

“You, of course.”

“Well, I’m glad that my trying amuses you.”

“It does. No offence, you’re getting there, and I’m sure Annabeth is a great teacher; but how you swing your sword is just amusing.”

“Well ... I don’t know how heavy they should be, but this I’ve seems pretty heavy. Like if it’s not well balanced.”

“Let me see.” He took my sword. He looked at it from different angles, weighed it, then he spoke. “No, it is heavy.” He walked over to Annabeth and Connor. “What sword did you give this poor girl?”

“Excuse me?” She asked back.

“It was mine,” Connor spoke up.

“Then, I get it. You were sloppy as well.” Zack turned back to Annabeth. “If she trains with this, she’ll take it nowhere. Just saying,” he said. He handed me back my sword, turned around and left.

We talked about it for a few minutes, when we decided we’ll go and look for a proper sword in the armoury.

The rest of the day, or at least until lunch, then until dinner, Annabeth tried to teach me, with Connor’s assistance.

After dinner, I was at the dock when Percy came rushing in.

“Going somewhere?” I asked.

“Uhm, yes. Sorry. Annabeth, Grover and I need to go sort some things out. It will only take a few days.” He explained.

“But isn’t going outside of camp dangerous. I mean, that’s why we’re here in the first place.”

“Right. That’s why I’m taking Annabeth and Grover; to protect me, to protect each other. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a few days.”

“All right. Good luck ... on your thing.”

“Thanks,” he said. He grabbed his backpack and went out of the Cabin. I heard them talking outside as they passed the Cabin, and I stood there until I couldn’t hear them anymore. Then I was left in the empty cabin. All alone.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day I was alone at the table, eating breakfast. When I finished and stood up, Cindy appeared next to me. She hooked her arms with mine and smiled at me. “Let’s do something fun today, okay?”

I smiled weakly. “All right.”

Today turned out to be fun. Cindy gave me a Greek mythology lesson, though we did have a whole month on it in school. But of course, told by an insider, who lives in it, it’s different. You get to hear the tiny details you won’t usually.

“And Cindy, you never told me if you’ve ever met your mother?”

“No. Sadly. The only ones I know about who have met their parents are Percy and Annabeth.” She explained. “But it’s not a bad thing if you don’t meet them.” She paused. “And it’s also not a bad thing to have faith.”

I smiled. “Of course.” I stood and helped her up too. “What’s next?”

“How about some archery?” She asked with a big smile, then grabbed my arm, and took off running.

“But I swear I saw Chiron having a lesson now,” I said as running, but she didn’t answer.

As we got to the archery range, Cindy stopped. She didn’t look at me, she was looking at someone else. I turned my head and tried to look for the person she was watching. I almost gave up when I spotted the person. It was a boy. A boy with raven hair and green eyes. He was not wearing a shirt, only some brown trousers, and right now he was in the zone, seemingly not concentrating on anything except for the bow and arrow.

“Aaah.” I turned to Cindy. “Who’s he?”

“Nathan. Nike’s Cabin.” She let out a sigh. “Isn’t he gorgeous?”

I had another look at him. Yes, he was good-looking; the raven hair and the green eyes really enhanced his facial features, and yes, he was masculine, and topless right now; so overall, he was good-looking. But he wasn’t my type.

“Yeah. He’s fine,” I said. Nathan finished his round and was walking back to the back of the line.

“All right. That’s it. Come now,” Cindy said and started pulling me.

“What? Why? Cindy! Stop!” I protested.

“Come on, Izzi, you’re making a scene.” She shout-whispered to me.

“I am the one making a scene?” I asked back.

In an instant, she turned pale. “Oh, Lord. He is coming towards us.”

“What?” I turned around to see Nathan walking towards us.

“Girls,” he said. “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met.” He extended his hand to me. “I’m Nathan.”

“Isabella.” I shook his hand.

“Aaah, The new Sea Girl,” he said.

“Excuse me? “I asked back because I heard “seagull”.

“Sea Girl. You’re Poseidon’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“Oh. Sorry. I misheard what you said. But yes, I am.” He just smiled and nodded. “Uhm, this is Cindy, though you guys might as well know each other,” I said, pointing to Cindy.

“Yes. We met vaguely,” Nathan said. “Well, I’d love to chat, but I’ve got to go back, so ... See you around, Sea Girl.” Nathan turned around and walked back to the others.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” I turned to Cindy. She still looked so pale and shocked. She must’ve had a massive crush on him. When she finally snapped out of the trans, she playfully hit my arm. “Au!”

“Don’t do that again. Ever.”

“Do what? Get to know the other campers? Anyway. Remind me again who Nike was?” We hooked arms and started walking towards the lake.

“The Goddess of Victory.”

“Aaah, I see. Competitive guy.”

“Uh-hm,” she said.

“Though competition maybe _for_ him, don’t you think?” I smiled.

She sighed. “I know it’s a lost cause. But I can have hope.”

“Yes. Do you want me to talk to Nathan about you?”

“Like you did with Mason?” I blushed. Mason was a crush of hers for a year before I came to the school. In December, I decided to help my poor friend and talked to Mason about Cindy. Then, on one day, Mason went to Cindy and told her, quite rudely, that he is not interested in such girls like her. Long story short, she ended up crying in the toilets for the rest of the day. Though she forgave me for interfering, I knew she never forgot it.

“I’m sure that won’t happen again. Lightning never strikes twice in one place.” Then I thought. “Well, in our case, this might not be true.”

For a moment, she just looked at me, then she started laughing, and I did too.

“Oi, Isabella!” I heard Zack from the green patch where Annabeth and I were practising yesterday. He ran up to us. “What’s up?”

“Having fun. You should try it sometimes,” Cindy said coldly.

Zack ignored her and turned to me. “Where did you leave your little teacher?” I saw he was on the edge of laughter for some reason.

“Percy said, him Annabeth and some guy named Grover, had some things to sort out, and they left last night. I know nothing more.” I explained.

“Satyr,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“Grover is a satyr, not ‘some guy’.” He explained.

I nodded. “All right. But still.”

“So, do you need someone to teach you?” He asked.

I thought. I looked at Cindy. Although I only had yesterday to meet Annabeth and teach me, and I wanted to learn more. But I also wanted to spend time with Cindy. And I wasn’t sure if she wanted to learn how to sword fight.

“Uhm ...” I hesitated. “Why, do you know one?”

“Actually, yes,” he said. He straightened himself, and I knew he meant himself, but I wanted to keep an act on for some moments. I glanced and smiled at Cindy. “So?”

He hesitated. He looked at me, then Cindy, then back at me again. “Me. I could teach you.”

Cindy and I looked at each other. “I’m not sure. I mean you’re good, but ...”

“Come on.” He snapped, smiling. I smiled too.

“All right,” I said finally. I glanced at Cindy. “But ...”

“Go, I don’t mind. I’ll just go and watch–” Cindy cut herself off. “You know,” she said and walked off. Purposefully not towards the archery ranch.

“Come.” Zack waved to me, and I followed him to the grassy patch where he was practising. He picked up a sword, swung it, then handed it to me. “It’s not too heavy, I managed to get the two best ones.” He explained as I tried the sword out.

I stopped and looked at him. “It sounds like you planned this all day.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Well, no. I just prepared myself for the event of you accepting my offer.”

“A-ha.” I stretched the word. I got the sword up again and swung it a few times. “So, what do you got to teach me?”

For hours, he showed me moves, how to stand, hold the sword, swung it regardless of the weight of the weapon. I was so exhausted by the end of it that I dropped down to the grass then laid down.

“Come o-on. Get up.” He poked my arm with his sword.

“Na-ah. Let me breathe for a second,” I said. He sat down next to me, pulled his knees up, and put his on them. “Why is it so hot here?” I started fanning myself.

He extended his arms. “We’re on the sun, it’s summer, and you were doing intense exercises for three hours. Of course, you’re feeling hot.”

I turned my head to him. “Then why aren’t you? You’re always wearing black clothes.”

He shrugged. “I’m used to it. Continue?” He asked.

“Yeah.” I got up, and we started again.

We had a break for lunch, then we did it again for two hours, but then we just talked. We walked to the lake and sat down near it since Zack didn’t want to go closer.

“So, what can you do?” He asked.

“Pardon?”

“Most of us have some ‘superpowers’. Do you have anything you can do with water, for example?”

“Oh. Yes, I do have ‘superpowers’. Well, one, to be precise.” Instead of telling him I showed him. Since we were so close to the lake, it was easy, and the water came faster than it did with Clarisse. The bulb of water was now above my hand, floating in mid-air. I moved it around me, closer to Zack then back to the lake. I sat back down next to him. “But I can breathe underwater, more resistant to heat than normal people, and according to Percy, we are immune to water pressure,” I explained. “What about you?”

“I can manipulate air,” he said, and a breeze came, it became stronger, then died away. “I can manipulate the weather a but, like create rainclouds, storms. I only tried it once though. And control electricity. And I tend to give shocks to people when I touch them,” he said, and as he did, he touched my bare arm, and he indeed did shock me a little.

“Au!” I pulled my arm away. “That’s cool, though.”

We talked more, then we realised that it’s dinner time. We got up to go to the mess hall, but as I did, he grabbed my ankles and pulled me back. I ended up on the grass face down.

“Hey! What was that for?” I said as I stood up.

“Race you to the mess hall,” he said and took off running.

I caught up to him, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him backwards. Since he didn’t expect it, he stumbled and fell back. I started running faster, and as I felt him grabbing my arm, I halted. Mostly because Chiron was walking towards the mess hall too, saw us, and gave us a funny, questioning look. Zack stumbled into me and pushed me forward.

“Children,” Chiron said.

“Sorry, Chiron.” Zack force smiled, took my arm, and pulled me to the mess hall. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Chiron shake his head smiling.

Zack sat down at his table, and I did to mine. We glanced at each other, and he mouthed, “I won.”

I shook my head and mouthed. “No, you didn’t.”

He pointed his finger up and mouthed “Just you wait.”

After dinner, he got up before me, and when I got up and left the mess hall, going where I thought he’d went, because I didn’t see him anywhere. Then he jumped out from the corner and scared me.

“Zack!” He started laughing. I hit his arm playfully. “That wasn’t funny.”

“Yes, it was.” He continued laughing. “Hah. Huh. All right. I’m done,” he finally said. “Race you to the Cabins?”

“Fine. But fairly, this time!” I stated.

“All right.” He stood behind the line where the grass and the concrete floor met, and I copied him. “Ready?” He glanced at me, and I nodded.

“Go,” I said as I took off running. Regardless of my cheating, Zack won.

“Next time,” he said and patted my shoulder.

“Yeah. Just you wait until that moment. It won’t be as sweet as this one,” I said seriously, but I smiled. “See you, Zack.”


	7. Chapter 7

During the week, Zack continued to teach me sword fighting. On Sunday, an unexpected visitor came.

Zack lowered his sword and looked behind me. I turned around. A boy was coming towards us, light brown hair, sunglasses, a hoodie and jeans. I frowned and looked back at Zack.

“Hi guys,” the boy said as he reached us.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m Isabella. And you are?”

He shook my hand. “Tyson.”

Then it clicked. Tyson. Percy’s and my half-brother, a Cyclops. “Tyson. I heard about you.”

“So, did I. I met Percy a few days ago, though I planned to run into him here.”

“You saw Percy? How is he?” I asked.

“Good. So are the others, don’t worry. What are you doing now?”

“Uhm. Zack here is teaching me sword fighting.” I pointed to Zack, who waved his hand slightly.

“Oh. Do you mind if I stay for a bit?” Tyson asked.

I glanced at Zack. He just shrugged. “Yeah. Sure. But I’m not too good, so if you laugh, do it discretely.”

He didn’t answer, he just sat down a few yards from us. I turned back to face Zack and continued.

In an hour – since it’s Sunday and We were doing it all day – we stopped and called it a day. We got our stuff and walked off the patch, Tyson on my left, Zack on my right.

“You know, since Percy mentioned you to me, I started working on something for you,” Tyson started.

“You did?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes. Because I thought since Percy has something I made for him, why don’t you have something as well? It’s only fair.”

“Really, Tyson? You don’t have to.”

“It’s fine. I’m almost finished with it anyway.” He waved it off.

I glanced at Zack. I knew he was listening in to our conversation. As he noticed that I looked at him, he nudged me playfully.

“Oh, I need to see Chiron. See you around Isabella. Zack,” Tyson said and hurried away towards the Big House.

“Race to the Cabins again?” Zack asked.

“Fine. Ready? Go.” We took off running, and this time it was a tie. However, Zack didn’t want to accept that.

“I stepped over that line first.” He claimed. There was a line made from little rocks on the ground, where we marked where the finish line would be. It’s not big enough to be seen from far, but enough for us to notice when we’re crossing it.

“No. It was a tie. We both stepped over the line at the same time. It means we both win.”

“Nah. There cannot be more than one winners,” he stated.

I crossed my arm and looked at him questioningly. He didn’t say anything.

“You know what? I am willing to give up my first place, so do you can be the winner. But,” I held my finger up, “you’d have to compensate me.”

“What? How?”

“That’s yours to figure out,” I said and went into Cabin Three.

After dinner, when I was resting in my Cabin, I heard someone knocking on the door. I got up and opened the door to see Zack standing there. I leaned against the door. “Hm?”

“Can you come with me? It will only take a few minutes,” he said, holding his hand out.

I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, but I didn’t take his hand. He walked me behind the Cabins, to the lake, where we talked a few days ago. He sat down and patted the grass next to him for me to sit down. I did, and I pulled my knees up, and leaned back, supporting myself with my hands.

“So?” I started.

“Wait for it,” he said, looking at the sky. It was sunset. The sky was all but blue, orange and red and purple, even the clouds. It was mesmerising. We waited until the sun had set, then he turned towards me. It all happened fast.

He turned his body towards me while sitting and put his hand on my face. He pulled me closer to him, but stopped for a second, to see if I will pull back. But I didn’t, and he pulled me even closer, eliminating the distance between our lips, and pressed his on mine.

At first, I was surprised. Then I wanted to pull away because I was confused, I didn’t know if I wanted it or not, but in the end, I placed my hands on Zack’s cheeks, and deepened the kiss.

When he pulled away, he still held my face and was looking into my eyes directly.

“How about that? Was it worth giving up your place as first?” Ha smiled.

“Hm. Not sure. I need a reminder,” I said, and this time I pulled Zack closer. “Hm. Definitely,” I said finally.

It was getting dark, so we started walking back to the Cabins. Though we didn’t talk on our way there, it wasn’t a kind of awkward silence. He held my hand and walked closer to me than usual, but somehow it didn’t bother me at all, in fact, I felt warm inside.

We said goodnight as I left for my Cabin and he did to his. Somehow, that night, I felt empty though Tyson was there, snoring, but also filled with warmth.


	8. Chapter 8

On Monday, I spent the day with Cindy. I told her what happened yesterday, and she didn’t believe it. She asked so many questions which were irrelevant that I had to change the subject.

“And what is with you and Nathan?”

“Ah,” she waved. “Nothing.”

“So, he’ll stay your crush forever?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I like Nathan, but last week there were a few times when I actually got to talk to him, and I ...”

“Don’t like him anymore?” I finished. She shrugged. “It’s fine, Cindy.”

“I know. I know.” She sighed. “I just thought him different. He is so arrogant ... And competitive ... And ...”

“Not what you expected?”

“Exactly, yeah.”

“It’s fine. You’ll find someone. And if not, that’s not bad at all, we’ll just love together and fifty cats,” I said, and we both laughed.

After dinner, I was heading to my Cabin. Cindy wasn’t feeling right during dinner, so she excused herself early. When I got to my Cabin, I saw a figure, leaning against the side of the house.

“I was waiting for you,” Zack said with a smile. “I didn’t see you all day.”

“I know. I was with Cindy. I kinda abandoned her last week, spending all the time with you, so we wanted to catch up.”

He just hummed and pushed himself away from the Cabin. He put his hands in his pockets and looked into my eyes. “I wanted to ask you about us.”

“What about us?”

“Where we stand,” he said.

I looked down. I didn’t know myself either. I mean, we did kiss. Twice. And it was nice, but I never had a relationship, or were close to one; I never even had a boy friend.

“Uhm. Well ...” I paused. “Look, Zack, I was never in a relationship, never had a guy friend, but if that’s what you mean, I would be happy to call you my boyfriend ...” My voice faded towards the end.

He remained silent for some moments, then he got his hands out of his pocket and held my hands. “That would be awesome,” he said. He leaned down to me and kissed me.

“Though tomorrow I will still spend with Cindy. She was not feeling well today.”

“Of course. It’s fine. We’ll continue on Wednesday.”

I smiled and went I to the Cabin.


	9. Chapter 9

On Wednesday, Zack and I continued sword fighting.

“Just to let you know, I still won’t go easy on you,” he stated.

“I wouldn’t let you.”

After two hours, and after many defeats, I managed to have a win. Sadly, not by myself, because a bee flew close to Zack, and distracted him for enough time for me to knock the sword out of his hand and held or against him.

“I won.” I smiled widely.

He extended his arm, asking his sword back smiling. He looked and nodded behind me. “Tyson’s here.”

I turned around. Tyson was walking towards us, carrying something.

“Isabella. Zack.” He greeted us. “I got you something.” He handed it to me. Now that I saw it closer, I noticed that it was a sword in a case. It all looked handmade.

“Did you make this?” I asked, amazed.

“Yes. It is personalised only for you,” Tyson said. I drew the sword out of the case and tried it out.

“Wow. This is amazing. I know a sword should be an extension of your arm, but this feels like it’s literally my arm. Amazing.” I paused, then turned towards Tyson. “What did you mean, personalised?”

“Give it to Zack, and you’ll see,” was all that Tyson said, with a smile.

I looked at Zack and gave him my sword. The second he took it, he couldn’t hold it, and it fell to the ground. “That’s heavy,” he said.

“It is?” I looked at Tyson.

“It had a kind of magic if any other person than you tried to lift it up, they will feel its real weight. Also, its case is a shield too. Look.” He got the case of the sword, and on the top, which I thought was a decoration, there was a dark circle. He pressed it, and the case transformed into a circular shield, with Poseidon’s symbol, the trident on it.

“Awesome!” I said, amazed.

“And pressing it again, here, it will go back to normal,” he said then gave it back to me.

“Tyson. This is truly amazing. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I’m happy that you like it.” He paused. “I’ll let you try it out,” he said, turned around and started walking the way he came.

“Ha-ha.” I turned towards Zack, trying to look and sound intimidating. He just laughed, and we continued.

It was so much better to fight with my new sword. It was easier, because I basically didn’t feel the weight of it, and because of that, swinging it was easier and better. After a few tries, I so got into it, that the next thing I realised is that Zack is half-kneeling on the grass with the tip of my sword pointed to his chest.

“Bam! You’re dead.” I imitated that I killed him. I helped him up. “Does it hurt much?” I asked because I cut his leg in one of my swings, unintentionally though.

“I’m fine.” He dusted himself off. “That was a very good one. You got me.” I smiled widely. “Don’t let it get to your head. You were good this time, but it’s far from excellent. When in less than ten sword-swings you can disarm me, then we’ll talk excellent,” he said.

“Aha. Sure. You can’t do that.” I challenged him.

He lifted a brow at me and drew his sword and pointed it at me. “Challenge accepted.” He motioned with his sword to pick up mine, and so I did. Long story short, I was left speechless when he disarmed me with seven sword swings. My sword ended up a few yards to my right.

“How– Why didn’t you do this before?” Was all I asked.

“I didn’t think it was fair.” He looked at my sword. “You know I’ll be a gentleman, and would pick it up for you, bu-ut ...”

“I know. It’s fine,” I said and went to retrieve my sword. “Can you teach me how to do it?”

“Later. First, you’ll have to excel at this.” He showed me a move which was a twirly-twisty-break-my-neck move.

“Wow.”

“All right. First, stand like this.” He instructed me.

***

“Percy!” I shouted when I stepped into the Cabin. I ran to him and hugged him. “You’re back. How was It?”

“Ho-ho. Let me breathe.” He joked. “Huh. It was fine. We did manage to complete the task, which wasn’t even that hard, as we found out.”

“Then what’s this?” I pointed to his face. On his left cheek, there was a scar, still red.

“Oh. Uhm ... That was me. I, uhm, I am a bit clumsy sometimes.” I laughed. “But what happened here? How are you?”

“I’m fine. Everything was super. I spent days with Cindy and Zack, he even though me sword fighting since Annabeth went with you guys. Oh, and Tyson visited. He left a few days ago. And he gave me this.” I collected the sword and its case from my bed, where I threw it when I came in. “Tyson made it.” First, I showed him the case which transforms into a shield, then talked about the sword.

“Cool.” He reached for the sword.

“Uhm, Tyson said if someone lifts it up who is not me, the sword’s real weight will–” I was cut off by Percy, who swung the sword like it was a piece of wood. “show. How are you doing that?”

“What? It is not heavy at all.” He gave it back to me. “It must have something to do with the fact that we both are descendants of Poseidon.”

“Maybe,” I said a bit hard by the fact that he just crushed my theory.

“But don’t worry, Isabella, I have my own sword.” He pulled a pen out of his pockets.

“A pen?” He showed up a finger, indicating me to “wait”, then he clicked It, and it transformed into a sword. “Wow.”

“Its name is Riptide. The special thing about it is that it always comes back to me. Even if I think I lost it, which I tend to do a lot.” I laughed, and he joined me too. “So, Zack taught you fighting?”

“Yeah. But I won’t say that I’m pretty good, in fact, I’m still nowhere near it.”

“Come on outside. Show me.” He nodded towards the back of the Cabin.

“What? Here? Now? With you?”

“Aha. Why?” He asked back. I shook my head and headed outside. As I was about to turn around, Percy already stroke, and I barely escaped and kept my ear. “Hey!” I called out and continued what he unfairly started.

Long story short, at one moment I thought I was about to win, when he knocked my sword out of my hands, and it fell straight into the lake.

“He-ey! Percy!” I shot him a piercing look, then looked in the lake, if I can see It, but I couldn’t.

“Just jump into it.” He suggested. I gave him another piercing look, but then I considered it again. I knew I could will myself to stay dry underwater ... So why was I hesitating? I could stay dry underwater, I could breathe underwater, I’m immune to water pressure, so?

So, I jumped.

It took me a few minutes to look for the sword, it couldn’t fell that far. I was basically walking on the bottom of the lake, looking for it. I was about to give up and find another solution when something shined ahead of me. I went to have a look, and I hoped it was my sword, not a coin.

Well, it was neither my sword, not a coin. It was a necklace. It was a locket, to be precise.

Disappointed, I went back up – as I suspected dry.

“Well?” He asked.

I shook my head. “I didn’t find it, but I found this.” I showed him the necklace.

“Here,” he said. From behind his back, he drew out my sword.

“What?” I asked, surprised.

“I managed to do that water controlling thing. I practised over the last few weeks, and when you jumped in, I pulled the sword back out.”

“You, slimy little sea snake!” I shouted playfully and sent him a big blub of water. While he was distracted, I got his sword and held against him. “I won!” I dropped the sword down in front of him.

“You’re not mad at me, are you?” He asked, wiping the water away from his eyes.

“Only temporarily.” I went back into the house, and I heard him chuckle.


End file.
